Excerpt:"Some experts say defense attorneys' decision to disclose key elements of their argument to the press could backfire.

"'Once your client has been charged or has been indicted, then at some point it's potentially risky to release that favorable information to the prosecutor or to the media, because it might allow the prosecution time to explore the evidence more,' said Margaret Lawton, a former federal prosecutor and an associate professor at the Charleston School of Law in South Carolina.

"At the same time, the attorneys were responsible for defending their clients' reputation.

"The clients 'don't want all their classmates thinking they're rapists,' said Craig Lerner, a professor at GeorgeMason University School of Law in Virginia.